Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Summary:She could save the world—or destroy it.Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.But she can’t do either alone.With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?Who can Evie trust?As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side….

Review:

“Every few centuries, a new life-or-death game begins. You must trump the twenty-one other Arcana, Evie. Only one can live.”

After finishing this book, one word keeps popping up in my head: weird! (Sorry, I lack originality). This book really was a peculiar read, but so interesting and fascinating. It makes my head spin because it is so damn difficult to fathom everything, gather my thoughts and write a decent review.

The writing style was unsurpassable. The whole time, I was.. I don’t know. Mesmerized? The way Cole describes things, the word choice, it all just fits. The book starts right away with a prologue that gives you a “what the hell is happening here?!” feeling. It is actually the almost ending of the book, and let me tell you this: reading the almost end but not knowing how it ends before the actual end is there, is unbearable for a person like me who barely can refrain from reading the last page of every book! Also, I loved the way how Cole shifts between before and after the Flash. How everything fits together so perfectly. The parts after the Flash are written from the perspective of some sick-minded person and it is only at the end we discover the identity. Throughout the whole book I kept wondering who this person was and I wasn’t able to figure it out on my own.

“Empress. You must be ready. Field of battle. Arsenal. Obstacles. Foes. It begins directly at the End. And the Beginning is nigh.”

The world building was incredible. I don’t know a single thing about tarot cards (well, apart from the fact that it are cards..) but the whole set-up intrigued me endlessly and for me Cole hit a Royal Flush. All the aspects together, from tarot cards to Flash to a world with slavers, bagmen, militia, this was just a phenomenal journey and it kept me glued to the book page after page.

“—Behold the Bringer of Doubt.—”

And then the characters. From the main to the supportive characters, each and everyone contributed to the story and although some might’ve annoyed me from time to time, they are all crucial and indispensable. Even Selena.. Can you say bitch? I really wanted to hurt that girl but she also intrigued me at the same time. I still don’t know if she can be trusted or not. I mean, who the hell is she? Then again, the other Arcana members also have the whole mysterious thing going on.

“I’m in Death’s pocket, so he’s in my eyes”

It is impossible to stay untouched by Matthew. I’m not old enough to be his mom but my mother instinct definitely started to work with him. Then there is his puzzling personality. Although I know he can’t help it, his incomprehensible use of words often frustrated me and when Evie asks about Death’s and Matthew’s age, his reply is (again) so frustrating cryptic.

“—Don’t look at this hand, look at that one.—”

Finneas is a welcome distraction in the book and makes the whole atmosphere a bit less heavy with his witty remarks. And a guy who uses the word ‘sugartits’ has my attention, I can’t help it. I hope we’ll get more from him in the sequel.

“Come, touch, but you’ll pay a price”

Evangeline is not (at first) your kickass heroine. Some might even call her whiny. She did annoy me a few times, but not because I thought she was whiny. Cause let’s be honest, if you would survive an apocalypse and end up in a world with bagmen, how would you react? I know for sure I would pee in my pants and go sit in a corner shaking like a terrified little puppy. So although Jackson calls Evie a “useless little doll—pretty to look at and not a damn thing more”, I don’t think that’s true at all. Her inability to fight and hunt like Jackson does, makes her react like a typical human girl would. Of course, after a while and especially towards the end of the book it’s clear she is anything but regular and helpless. That girl can pull of some pretty cool tricks! Even if it is with plants… . The thing I didn’t like about her was her trust issues with Jack. The guy keeps saving her little ass, trusts her with his personal stuff but when he asks for the same thing he comes up empty handed. I’m still not sure if I like her or not. But I also don’t dislike her. Hmm, this is a though one!

“Jack Daniels is always good to have in hand.”

And last, but definitely not least, we have Jackson Deveaux. Now, don’t you just have to sigh reading that name? (I even don’t hold it against you if you’re a guy)
Normally I don’t do a lot of fangirling (ok, with exception of Kellan Kyle, but that’s beside the point) but I guess I am now one of the (I bet many) girls who idolize Jack and would fall at his feet. I have to say, I wasn’t hooked immediately after his entrance, the bike didn’t do it for me and even not the French accent (although it did made me swoon. Just a little). I started to fall for this guy after witnessing his home situation (I know, I’m a sucker for damaged men) and a bit more when he came back for Evie. But what pulled me over the line eventually was the way he treated Evie. Finally not a guy who transforms into a damn marshmallow and goes all sweet on the girl! No way, Jack wanted Evie to grow some balls and to toughen up. I can appreciate an attitude like that, especially in an after-apocalypse world where weakness means death. However, how much I like the guy, there is something about him but I can’t exactly put my finger on it. But I’m certain there is more to his character then we’ve seen so far.

“—The Empress is in play.—”

The ending.. that was wow! Explosive!
So many questions are left unanswered and it’s pure torture to not have the sequel yet. If I was a billionaire, I think I would try to bribe Cole to give me a preview of the sequel! Or maybe if I was a criminal I would take her hostage… But I’m neither of that so the only thing I can do is wait! And honestly, the anticipation is killing me! But I don’t regret one second that I already read this book.

So if you haven’t read this book then what the hell are you waiting for?!

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Hmm not a fan of the cover. Models look way too old (mid-late twenties for chick and late twenties for dude). And because of the age the guy just seems creepy. He actually looks like he could be in his 30s. High score and interesting premise. I’ll add this to my TBR list.